Sound responsive doll apparatus

ABSTRACT

A sound responsive doll apparatus includes an outer doll covering, a base supporting the outer doll covering, base-to-support attachment means for attaching the base to an underlying support such as a dashboard, sound-signal receiver means for receiving real-time electrical signals representing sounds, and sound-signal-to-visible response means housed by the outer doll covering and electrically connected to the sound-signal receiver means for converting electrical signals representing sound from the sound-signal receiver means into visible motion of the outer doll covering. The sound-signal receiver means can be in a form of a wire and plug that are electrically connected to a sound producing device, such as a stereo system, in the underlying support. The sound-signal receiver means include a signal processor, and the sound-signal-to-visible response means include sound-signal-to-visible motion means, such as arm servos and leg servos.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority based upon my copending ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/707,111; filed Aug. 11, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to toys or dolls or othersimulations of living creatures, and, more particularly, to toys ordolls or other simulations of living creatures that provide movement inresponse to sound.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Toys or dolls or other simulations of living creatures that providemovement are well known in the art. In this respect, throughout theyears, a number of innovations have been developed relating to movingtoys, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of thoseinnovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,603,027, 5,356,326, 5,846,115, 6,582,273,and 6,782,308.

More specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,603,027 discloses a moving toy dollthat is moved by a stream of air from a manually operated air pump. Themotion of the doll is dependent upon the stream of air from the airpump. If a driver of an automotive vehicle were to use this device, thedriver would have to take one hand off of the steering wheel to operatethe device. Moreover, when the driver ceased manually operating the airpump, the motion of the doll would stop. In this respect, it would bedesirable if a movable doll were provided which does not require adriver of an automotive vehicle to continuously and manually operate anair pump.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,326 discloses a shaking toy which is movable inresponsive to sound that is sensed. The toy is a simulated monkey. Withthis toy, a motor is contained in the torso of the monkey, and the motorcreates vibrations. The vibrations cause a rocking of a cage, and themonkey hangs from an overhead bar of the cage. With this device, monkeyswings in the cage. The swinging action of the monkey and the rocking ofthe cage are entertaining, but the entertainment is quite limited. Forexample, the limbs, such as arms and legs, do not respond individuallyto the sound that is sensed. Response of arms and legs to sound wouldadd considerably to entertainment value in a toy that exhibits motion inresponse to sound.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,115 discloses an animated stuffed toy that isresponsive to a voice, and motion of the toy resemble sleepiness ordrowsiness. As with the toy disclosed in above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No.5,356,326, this animated toy does not have arms and legs which respondindividually to sounds.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,273 discloses a music box that has dancingcharacters that move in response to a rotating asymmetric wavy track. Asa result the dancing action of the characters is totally responsive tothe physical shape of the rotating asymmetric wavy track. There is novariety in the dancing action, and the arms and legs of the dancingcharacters do not respond individually to the sound that is sensed. Toincrease entertainment value in a sound responsive toy device, it wouldbe desirable if the toy device exhibited variety in dancing action.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,308 discloses a robot that moves in accordance witha program that is stored in the robot. The stored program can be music.Although pre-stored music can cause the robot to perform a variety ofmovement actions, having the robot pre-programmed severely limits themusic that can be employed to cause the robot to move. Rather thanemploying a pre-programmed device that is responsive to pre-programmedmusic, it would be desirable if a sound responsive device that moveswere provided that responds to a real-time stream of audio signals. Inthis respect, such a desirable device could respond to live audiobroadcasts or real-time playing of recorded music from a tape, CD, DVD,or the like.

As discussed above, having a sound responsive toy device in anautomotive vehicle may be desirable. In this respect, it would bedesirable to provide a convenient and practical way to support the soundresponsive toy device in the automotive vehicle.

All of the prior art discussed above relate to sound responsive toydevices which respond directly to sound. That is, they respond to soundvibrations in the air. Musical sound vibrations in the air may beaccompanied by a lot of background sound noise. To curtail suchbackground noise, it would be desirable if a sound responsive toy devicewere provided which responds in real-time to electrical signalsrepresenting sounds. Such electrical signals representing sounds couldcome to the sound responsive toy device through an electrical cable orother electrical conductor interconnected between the sound responsivetoy device and the device which provides electrical signals representingsounds.

Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be wellknown to use moving toys, the prior art described above does not teachor suggest a sound responsive doll apparatus which has the followingcombination of desirable features: (1) does not require a driver of anautomotive vehicle to continuously and manually operate an air pump; (2)has arms and legs which can respond individually to the sound that issensed; (3) exhibit variety in dancing action; (4) can respond to liveaudio broadcasts or real-time playing of recorded music from a tape, CD,DVD, or the like; (5) provides a convenient and practical way to supportthe sound responsive toy device in an automotive vehicle; (6) respondsin real-time to electrical signals representing sounds; and (7) canemploy an electrical cable or other electrical conductor interconnectedbetween the sound responsive doll apparatus and the device whichprovides electrical signals representing sounds. The foregoing desiredcharacteristics are provided by the unique sound responsive dollapparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from thefollowing description thereof. Other advantages of the present inventionover the prior art also will be rendered evident.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, the present invention,briefly described, provides a sound responsive doll apparatus whichincludes an outer doll covering, a base supporting the outer dollcovering, base-to-support attachment means for attaching the base to anunderlying support, sound-signal receiver means for receiving electricalsignals representing sounds, and sound-signal-to-visible response meanshoused by the outer doll covering and electrically connected to thesound-signal receiver means for converting electrical signalsrepresenting sound from the sound-signal receiver means into visiblemotion of the outer doll covering. The sound responsive doll apparatusof the invention can be used to receive electrical signals representingsound in real-time from a device playing broadcasted or recorded music.

The sound-signal receiver means can be in a form of a wire and plug thatare electrically connected to a sound producing device in an underlyingsupport.

With an alternate embodiment of the invention,sound-to-electrical-signal transducer means are provided for convertingsounds in the air to electrical signals received by the sound-signalreceiver means. A source of battery power can be electrically connectedto the sound-signal receiver means and the sound-signal-to-visibleresponse means for powering one or both of them. The sound-signalreceiver means include a signal processor, and thesound-signal-to-visible response means include sound-signal-to-visiblemotion means.

Preferably, the sound-signal-to-visible motion means include servounits. The servo units include arm servos and leg servos.

Preferably, the outer doll covering is a simulated animal. The simulatedanimal can be a bear. Preferably, the underlying support is a dashboardof a motor vehicle.

The base-to-support attachment means can include first hook-or-loopmaterial for connection with complementary second hook-or-loop materialattached to the underlying support.

Preferably, the sound-signal-to-visible response means include sourcesof illumination. The sources of illumination can be located in eyepositions of a simulated animal.

The above brief description sets forth rather broadly the more importantfeatures of the present invention in order that the detailed descriptionthereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that thepresent contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are,of course, additional features of the invention that will be describedhereinafter and which will be for the subject matter of the claimsappended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining a preferred embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limitedin its application to the details of the construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood, that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis fordesigning other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out theseveral purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore,that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructionsinsofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which has all of the advantagesof the prior art and none of the disadvantages.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which may be easily andefficiently manufactured and marketed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which is of durable andreliable construction.

An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which is susceptible of a lowcost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and whichaccordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consumingpublic, thereby making such sound responsive doll apparatus available tothe buying public.

Still yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a newand improved sound responsive doll apparatus which does not require adriver of an automotive vehicle to continuously and manually operate anair pump.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus that has arms and legs whichcan respond individually to the sound that is sensed.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which exhibit variety indancing action.

Even another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus that can respond to live audiobroadcasts or real-time playing of recorded music from a tape, CD, DVD,or the like.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which provides a convenient andpractical way to support the sound responsive toy device in anautomotive vehicle.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus that responds in real-time toelectrical signals representing sounds.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved sound responsive doll apparatus which can employ an electricalcable or other electrical conductor interconnected between the soundresponsive doll apparatus and the device which provides electricalsignals representing sounds.

These together with still other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there are illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood and the above objects as well asobjects other than those set forth above will become more apparent aftera study of the following detailed description thereof. Such descriptionmakes reference to the annexed drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of the soundresponsive doll apparatus of the invention installed on a dashboard of amotor vehicle and connected to a stereo system.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the embodiment of the soundresponsive doll apparatus shown in FIG. 1, in a condition responding tosound from the radio.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the embodiment of the soundresponsive doll apparatus of FIG. 2 taken along line 3-3 thereof.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, broken away view of the embodiment of theinvention shown in FIG. 2 contained in circled area 4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of functional units of the embodiment of theinvention shown in FIGS. 1-4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings, a new and improved sound responsive dollapparatus embodying the principles and concepts of the present inventionwill be described.

With reference to the drawings, a new and improved sound responsive dollapparatus embodying the principles and concepts of the present inventionwill be described.

Turning to FIGS. 1-5, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the soundresponsive doll apparatus of the invention generally designated byreference numeral 10. In the preferred embodiment, a sound responsivedoll apparatus 10 includes an outer doll covering 12, a base 14supporting the outer doll covering 12, base-to-support attachment meansfor attaching the base 14 to an underlying support, sound-signalreceiver means for receiving electrical signals representing sounds, andsound-signal-to-visible response means housed by the outer doll covering12 and electrically connected to the sound-signal receiver means forconverting electrical signals representing sound from the sound-signalreceiver means into visible motion of the outer doll covering 12.

The sound-signal receiver means can be in a form of a wire and plug 28that are electrically connected to a sound producing device in anunderlying support. The sound producing device can be a radio, CDplayer, tape player, or other sound producing device. More specifically,the sound producing device can be a stereo system 13.

Alternatively, sound-to-electrical-signal transducer means are providedfor converting sounds in the air to electrical signals received by thesound-signal receiver means. The sound-to-electrical-signal transducermeans can be in a form of a microphone (not shown). source of batterypower 20 can be electrically connected to the sound-signal receivermeans and the sound-signal-to-visible response means for powering one orboth of them. The sound-signal receiver means include a signal processor22, and the sound-signal-to-visible response means includesound-signal-to-visible motion means.

Preferably, the sound-signal-to-visible motion means include servounits. The servo units include arm servos 24 and leg servos 26.

Preferably, the outer doll covering 12 is a simulated animal. Thesimulated animal can be a bear, such as a teddy bear. Preferably, theunderlying support is a dashboard 11 of a motor vehicle.

The preferred base-to-support attachment means can include firsthook-or-loop material 16 for connection with complementary secondhook-or-loop material attached to the underlying support. The firsthook-or-loop material 16 and the complementary second hook-or-loopmaterial can be made from well-known VELCRO(™) material. Alternatively,other well-known attachment means may be used instead on the undersideof base 14 such as, for example, suction cups, or a double-sidedadhesive layer.

Preferably, the sound-signal-to-visible response means include sourcesof illumination 18. The sources of illumination 18 can be located in eyepositions of a simulated animal.

To use the embodiment of the sound responsive doll apparatus 10 of theinvention shown in the figures, the base 14 is attached to the top ofthe dashboard 11. To do this, first hook-or-loop material 16 on thebottom of the base 14 is attached to second hook-or-loop material(unlabeled) suitably located on the top of the dashboard 11.

The sound that is received by the sound responsive doll apparatus 10 canbe from the stereo system 13 of the underlying support. Either the soundresponsive doll apparatus 10 can be plugged into the stereo system 13 toreceive electrical signals therefrom, or the sound responsive dollapparatus 10 can include a microphone (not shown) that receives soundfrom the air.

The sound responsive doll apparatus can respond to the sound by havingportions of the doll move in response to the sound. For example, thearms, legs, mouth, and eyes of the doll can move in response to thesound. Also, the lights can respond to the sound. When the sound, suchas music, is fast, the movements and light flashes can be fast. When themusic is slow, the movements and light flashes can be slow.

More specifically, with reference to FIG. 5, sound signals from thestereo system 13 are sent to the signal processor 22. From the signalprocessor 22, control signals are directed to the arm servos 24, the legservos 26, and the sources of illumination 18 in a predetermined orprogrammed sequence to cause desired visible motion of the outer dollcovering 12 and to cause desired flashing of the sources of illumination18.

The components of the sound responsive doll apparatus of the inventioncan be made from inexpensive and durable metal, plastic, and clothmaterials.

As to the manner of usage and operation of the instant invention, thesame is apparent from the above disclosure, and accordingly, no furtherdiscussion relative to the manner of usage and operation need beprovided.

It is apparent from the above that the present invention accomplishesall of the objects set forth by providing a new and improved soundresponsive doll apparatus that is low in cost, relatively simple indesign and operation, and which does not require a driver of anautomotive vehicle to continuously and manually operate an air pump.With the invention, a sound responsive doll apparatus is provided whichhas arms and legs which can respond individually to the sound that issensed. With the invention, a sound responsive doll apparatus isprovided which exhibit variety in dancing action. With the invention, asound responsive doll apparatus is provided which can respond to liveaudio broadcasts or real-time playing of recorded music from a tape, CD,DVD, or the like. With the invention, a sound responsive doll apparatusis provided which provide a convenient and practical way to support thesound responsive toy device in an automotive vehicle. With theinvention, a sound responsive doll apparatus is provided which respondsin real-time to electrical signals representing sounds. With theinvention, a sound responsive doll apparatus is provided which canemploy an electrical cable or other electrical conductor interconnectedbetween the sound responsive doll apparatus and the device whichprovides electrical signals representing sounds.

Thus, while the present invention has been shown in the drawings andfully described above with particularity and detail in connection withwhat is presently deemed to be the most practical and preferredembodiment(s) of the invention, it will be apparent to those of ordinaryskill in the art that many modifications thereof may be made withoutdeparting from the principles and concepts set forth herein, including,but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, functionand manner of operation, assembly and use.

Hence, the proper scope of the present invention should be determinedonly by the broadest interpretation of the appended claims so as toencompass all such modifications as well as all relationships equivalentto those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification.

Finally, it will be appreciated that the purpose of the annexed Abstractis to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the publicgenerally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners inthe art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology,to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence ofthe technical disclosure of the application. Accordingly, the Abstractis neither intended to define the invention or the application, whichonly is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as tothe scope of the invention in any way.

1. A sound responsive doll apparatus, comprising: an outer dollcovering, a base supporting said outer doll covering, base-to-supportattachment means for attaching said base to an underlying support,sound-signal receiver means for receiving electrical signalsrepresenting sounds, and sound-signal-to-visible response means housedby said outer doll covering and electrically connected to saidsound-signal receiver means for converting electrical signalsrepresenting sound from said sound-signal receiver means into visiblemotion of said outer doll covering.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid sound-signal receiver means is in a form of a wire and plugelectrically connected to a sound producing device in a underlyingsupport.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, further including:sound-to-electrical-signal transducer means for converting sounds in theair to electrical signals received by said sound-signal receiver means.4. The apparatus of claim 1, further including: a source of batterypower electrically connected to said sound-signal receiver means andsaid sound-signal-to-visible response means.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1wherein: said sound-signal receiver means include a signal processor,and said sound-signal-to-visible response means includesound-signal-to-visible motion means.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5wherein said sound-signal-to-visible motion means include servo units.7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said servo units include arm servosand leg servos.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said outer dollcovering is a simulated animal.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein saidsimulated animal is a bear.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein theunderlying support is a dashboard of a motor vehicle.
 11. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein said base-to-support attachment means include firsthook-or-loop material for connection with complementary secondhook-or-loop material attached to the underlying support.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said sound-signal-to-visible response meansinclude sources of illumination.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 whereinsaid sources of illumination are located in eye positions of a simulatedanimal.